The present invention relates to the new and distinct Coneflower plant, botanically known as Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench hybrid and herein after referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Kim""s Mop Headxe2x80x99. The stated cultivar is valued for its unique and long-lasting white flower display and short compact plant habit.
Echinacea purpurea xe2x80x98Kim""s Mop Headxe2x80x99 is a selection of a non-induced whole plant mutation from a nursery propagated batch of Echinacea purpurea xe2x80x98Kim""s Knee Highxe2x80x99 U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,242, discovered in one-gallon flowering pots by the inventor, Pierre Bennerup, at a nursery in Kensington, Conn. in the summer of 1996. xe2x80x98Kim""s Mop Headxe2x80x99 has been propagated at a nursery in Kensington, Conn. by both tissue culture and root cuttings, and has demonstrated that the plant maintains its unique characteristics and is capable of reproducing identical individuals in successive generations. The claimed plant retains its distinctive characteristics and reproduces true to type in successive generations in both of the above-mentioned propagation methods.
Echinacea purpurea is one of two species in the genus. It is an American native plant found in the eastern United States region normally bounded by Michigan and Oklahoma on the west and Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia on the east. There are only a few white flowering varieties, including: xe2x80x98Albaxe2x80x99 (not patented), xe2x80x98Cygnet Whitexe2x80x99 (not patented). xe2x80x98White Lustrexe2x80x99 (not patented), and xe2x80x98White Swanxe2x80x99 (not patented). Among the purple or wine-colored flowering forms, one, Rudbeckia purpurea plant U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,414 (now known as Echinacea purpurea xe2x80x98Robert Bloomxe2x80x99 U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,414), is patented and another xe2x80x98Kim""s Knee Highxe2x80x99 U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,242, has a more pink flower. The white flowering forms, xe2x80x98Albaxe2x80x99, xe2x80x98White Lustrexe2x80x99, and xe2x80x98White Swanxe2x80x99 are seed propagated, taller varieties, and like the species, flower in heights varying between 65 and 150 cm tall. One shorter variety, Echinacea purpurea xe2x80x98Cygnet Whitexe2x80x99, is a selection with white horizontal ray petals that reaches 52 cm in height. Other short, purple-flowering forms exist, such as xe2x80x98Nanaxe2x80x99 (not patented) in Great Britain, and xe2x80x98Rosenelfxe2x80x99 (not patented) in Germany, and xe2x80x98Kim""s Knee Highxe2x80x99 (patent pending by another individual) with its pinkish red flower color. xe2x80x98Kim""s Mop Headxe2x80x99 differs from all other Echinacea with a unique combination of traits. The plant is short and compact, flowering at no more than 40 cm. The flowers are pure white, and the petals droop as the flowers mature.